


Contrition

by MegaKat



Series: Friends with Benefits Series [2]
Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball
Genre: Angst, F/M, Forbidden Love, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Heartbreak, Insecurity, Love Confessions, Mating, Mating Bites, Mating Bond, Porn With Plot, Rejection, Secret Relationship, fear of intimacy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-14
Updated: 2015-08-18
Packaged: 2018-04-14 16:29:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4571571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegaKat/pseuds/MegaKat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After decades as best friends and nearly as long as secret lovers, Neo Queen Serenity has had enough of Raditz's headgames and insecurities, and a misunderstanding is the last straw. How will he make it right? Can he ever earn her forgiveness?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shironek0](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shironek0/gifts).



> Shironeko, I know this isn't the pairing you wanted, but at least it's Raditz, right? ...right? I tried!
> 
> And as always, thank yall for your patronage and readership, I love you guys so much!

                After another long day in court listening to people’s problems and even some whining from those that were overly self-entitled and didn’t get their way, Serenity unfastened her jewelry and tossed it into a bowl on her dresser reserved for just that. Her crown went next, though that was placed more carefully upon the wooden stand that she used for it; she would never haphazardly toss away the symbol of her responsibility, no matter how much it felt like a million pounds bearing down on her. For such a light, finely wrought piece of bejeweled gold, it sure felt heavy most days.

                So did this body, for that matter—her immortal body—long-lived and bearing the weight of hundreds of years of ruling her people as fairly and lovingly as possible, and she could hardly wait each evening to shift into her mortal body and see her golden hair in the mirror, a reminder of happier times. Turning into Usagi, the queen of Crystal Tokyo did just that and sighed, looking over herself in her royal garb, briefly brushing her fingertips over the crescent on her forehead. Yes, this body was just as long-lived as the other, but it wasn’t immortal and it didn’t bear the weight of millions of lives upon it. Not like her silver-hued form did.

                It was only when she looked away and moved to the closet to put away her silk slippers that she sensed that she wasn’t alone, but Usagi only had time to stiffen from head to toe before she was pressed tightly to the wall beside the closet face-first. Her attempt to scream was stifled by a large, calloused hand, and the intentions of her attacker were quickly made when a very male body pressed into her from behind,  a long, thick cock nudging against her clothed folds as a hot, desperate mouth descended on the back of her neck and peppered it with slow, eager kisses.

                Usagi gave a token struggle against her attacker, throwing her elbows back and kicking as best as she could, but her arms were pinned above her head with the hand that had been over her mouth, its twin shoving her skirts up to her hips and tearing away her panties to expose her.

                “I didn’t think you’d put up this much of a fight,” her assailant whispered in her ear, finally speaking as he parted her knees with one of his legs and pressed the thick, swollen head of his aching arousal into her folds. “You certainly never fought me before, angel.”

                “You were an asshole last time, Raditz!” She snapped at him even as he pushed into her and she trembled in reaction. Gods, she’d missed this. She’d missed _him_ , but she’d be damned if she’d tell him that. Hell, the last time she’d uttered something he’d interpreted as romantic and sappy, he’d huffed at her angrily and had said more than a few things that _still_ made her cry herself to sleep. But that didn’t stop her eyes from fluttering shut, or keep her body from accepting him with a tremor of pure, raw ecstasy. “Gods… Raddy,” she panted as he shoved deep and ground against her once, long and slow, allowing her to feel and savor every inch of him stretching her exquisitely.

                “Mmm… I know, sweetheart…” he sighed contentedly in her ear, moving slow, fully aware that her toes were curling in the plush carpet of her rooms. For the first time in a week, he finally felt whole. For two days he’d felt the loss of her, and for the remaining five he’d felt not only that loss, but a pounding, undeniable need to see her, to confess the epiphany that he’d had on the third day, to offer himself up fully and pray that she felt the same, that he hadn’t alienated her to the point that she’d reject him. As he nipped at her collarbone, he considered telling her right then and there, but no. No, he wanted to look her in the eyes as he said it. He wanted to give her the romance that he knew she’d wanted all these years. He wanted to give her that and more… he wanted to give her everything. And as soon as he’d gotten the hammering, physical ache that he always felt for her out of the way, he’d at last declare the feelings he’d only just acknowledged five days ago.

 “Gods, angel…tried to stop thinking about how good it feels inside of you for the last week, but… mmm, we see how _that_ turned out.”

                The smug tone of his voice drew her out of the trance he always managed to put her under with his possessive hands and the deliciously slow pace he’d set, and Usagi shook her head as tears filled her eyes and she drove her elbow back into his gut to shove him away, acutely feeling the empty, needy ache inside of her when he left her drenched core… and then ignoring it. No, she would not give in this time! “No!” She shouted at him. “No more of this, damn it! You don’t get to come in here and just… just _fuck_ _me_ whenever you feel like it, Raditz! Not after the new moon! Not after all of those horrible things you said to me! You are _not_ forgiven!”

                They’d rarely ever argued over the years—real genuine arguments, not just little annoyed tiffs—and the one thing that always won those arguments in Usagi’s favor was the fact that Raditz simply couldn’t ever stand to see her cry. Sure, whenever she said something even slightly romantic, he shut it down quickly, but at the first sight of her tears the sap in him came out of hiding and he always found himself purring in contrite comfort for her before he wound up taking her to the bed to claim her slowly in the dark. Like a lover and not a casual friend with benefits. Like he cared more than a best friend normally would. Like he wanted to stay.

                That thought made him grimace, and he ignored the ache in his abs from her elbow—damn it if the woman didn’t still have the strength of a warrior!—as he recalled the very similar words that had hit a sore spot with him during the new moon, before he’d realized just _why_ they’d hit a sore spot at all.

                _Stay with me,_ she’d whispered as she’d curled into him, still breathless from the long, easy fuck they’d shared upon returning to her chambers. _Stay with me, Raddy._

                “I shouldn’t have said any of that,” he admitted in a guilty whisper. “You’re right and I’m sorry, Usagi.” He’d wanted to stay… and not just until dawn. He’d wanted to stay and he’d been confused and scared by it… and he’d lashed out at her as a result of his own fear. Fear of what he hadn’t understood, but now finally did.

                “No, you shouldn’t have! You took it as something more when I was only asking you to stay the night!” The tears were flowing freely now, and when he approached her to comfort her as he always did when she was crying, Usagi shoved at him hard, her powers sparking a burst of strength that threw him into the wall and cracked the plaster. “You _always_ read too much into things that I say! You _always_ assume that I’m trying to trap you! And you _always_ hurt my feelings just because you’re insecure as hell and can’t come to grips with the fact that you feel more for me than you’re willing to admit!”

                “You’re dead wrong about that last part, Usa-angel, but you’re right about the rest and I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say to you,” Raditz huffed in frustration as he absently rubbed at his ribs and then his back. Goddamnit she was _really_ fucking mad this time! If he told her how he felt now, would she even believe him? She was madder than he’d ever seen her!

                Not only that, but the pain in her eyes was like nothing he’d ever seen before, and Raditz inwardly cringed as he looked up at her, his brain clicking away at different ways for him to fix this colossal, Jovian-sized, Broly-level-Legendary fuck-up of all time. “Usagi,” he whispered, not daring to stand from the little pile of plaster on the floor, worried that she’d shove him again and put him through the wall instead of into it, “tell me what you want.”

                “I want you to stop being such an insecure asshole! I want you to stop making me feel like shit because of your own issues with intimacy! I just want us to be NORMAL! Or at least as normal as possible! I’m sick and tired of your head games!” Usagi shouted down at him before moving towards her door at the sound of an authoritative knock. Damn it, of course her door guard would have heard or at least felt the wall shake when she’d shoved Raditz into it. Soundproof room or not, there was no way his collision with her wall had gone unnoticed.

                Raditz felt a shiver go down his spine when his queen went to the door and cracked it open, and in the moment before she spoke he knew that his life was in her hands. She’d never before been the vindictive type, but he’d also never seen her this furious in all the years he’d known her, and he’d never even heard of her being so angry as to put hands on someone.

                Surely, she was angry enough that she’d claim that an intruder was in her room and—

                “I’m fine,” Usagi said to the guard trying to look through the crack for any signs of a struggle. Luckily for Raditz, he was sitting naked on the floor against the same wall as the door, and there was no way he’d be seen unless the guard stepped inside. “I was angry and I threw something and… well, I forgot to check my strength.”

                Noting her tears, her guard frowned and tried to look around her again. “My queen… is something wrong? Shall I call one of your sisters for you? Is it anything I can help you with?”

                “No,” she chuckled humorlessly as she wiped at her eyes, “no, Tenar. But thank you, all the same. I just… had a really hard day. I was upset, that’s all. In fact, I feel a little better after throwing something. Just do me a favor and don’t tell the maids? I’ll clean it up, I wouldn’t want them to be upset with me about the mess I made.”

                “Your rooms are soundproof, Majesty, but it sounded like you threw a body into the wall and caved in part of the ceiling,” Tenar muttered. “What did you throw?”

                Usa blushed at that and looked away and down at the floor, quickly coming up with a believable lie. “Um… well, I sort of threw my nightstand.”

                Tenar had been one of the queen’s personal guards for centuries, and he knew damned well how heavy that solid darkmoon maple could be, so he could only gape at her for a moment before chuckling despite the tears that were still in her eyes. “F—forgive me, Majesty, it’s just… I think you might benefit from some time in the training room if you’re angry enough to throw a two hundred pound piece of furniture!”

                Only two hundred? Hell, Raditz was easily four hundred pounds stacked onto seven and a half feet of hair and muscle. Apparently some of the training sessions with him and her Senshi had paid off. “Yeah, you’re probably right. I’ll call Raditz in the morning and see if he feels like taking a beating,” she sighed.

                “Knowing that one, he’ll eagerly step up to the plate. He’s in love with you, you know,” Tenar informed her with a wink. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you when you aren’t paying attention.”

                “Oh.” Usagi could only stare at him in shock and fight every urge to look to her left and stare at Raditz instead, since that would give him away and get him hauled off by her guards… unless she confessed that she’d been sleeping with him for years. But truth be told, she didn’t care much about that anymore, nor did she care about what her people might think about the whole affair. She’d always sacrificed everything for them, so why shouldn’t she be allowed a little bit of happiness? Why couldn’t she take a consort or openly take a lover that wasn’t of noble birth? Why did he have to be another royal? Why couldn’t he just be a normal man that she loved and respected? Who cared about his bloodlines, so long as the kingdom continued to run smoothly and she wasn’t being manipulated by him?

                Tenar had known her far too long to misinterpret the look in her eyes as anything other than desperate longing, and he reached through the gap in the door to wipe at her tears. “Majesty, does he even know?” He asked softly.

                “Know what?” Usa asked as innocently as possible.

                “That you’re in love with him, too,” he stated sympathetically. “Or am I wrong?”

                “No… you’re not wrong,” she whispered, her heart breaking as she finally confessed it for the first time out loud.

Funny, how her voice sounded so calm and steady even as she realized that Raditz had lied to her. Her heart was crumbling in her chest, yet she could have been talking about the weather if someone listened only to her tone and pitch and didn’t look into her eyes.

“I love him. I have for a long time, Tenar. Years.” She didn’t have to look to her left to know that Raditz was staring at her, and Usagi swallowed the lump welling up in her throat before shaking her head slightly. She needed to close the door, she needed to finish this conversation before the rest of her shattered, before Tenar realized that something was very wrong with her and he insisted on entering her room. Another minute of speaking with him after she’d become conscious of Raditz’s lie would find her dissolved into a sobbing heap, and no one needed to see the Solarian system’s queen in such a vulnerable state. “And no. I’ll never tell him. It’s not something he’ll ever hear from my lips. Now, I… I think I need to rest, Tenar. I’m sorry for the noise. Goodnight.”

                “Wait,” the guard said quickly. “Majesty… Usagi,” he said softly. “I think you should know that Raditz is generally liked by all of your people. And that your people… they don’t care about the rules as much as you think. I’ve heard many say that they would love for you to find happiness again. Maybe… maybe you should just—“

                “No,” she said swiftly, her hands trembling and her mouth forming a hard line as she forced herself to hang onto her composure for another minute, just long enough to get rid of him before she—as Minako would have said—completely lost her shit. “No. But thank you for trying to cheer me up, Tenar. I’ll see you in the morning.” Usagi closed the door at that and even drew the bolt and the chain for good measure, her eyes slipping shut and a heavy sigh leaving her as she thumped her head against the door a single time and let it rest there. “Don’t touch me,” she sobbed. “ _Don’t!_ ”

                She didn’t have to look to know that Raditz was right behind her; she hadn’t even heard him move but she knew him better than anyone else and knew without a doubt that he was standing only a foot away, his hand raised in preparation to try and comfort her somehow, his fingertips so close that she could feel their warmth through the silk of her gown. That was always his way whenever she cried—he’d beg her forgiveness without words, since his words were what had done the damage in the first place. Only now… he knew. He knew the truth. Now he would try to comfort her with words as well as his body. Or confront her. Whichever it would be this time, it didn’t matter.

                _No_ , she told herself, _it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t… he lied to me._

                Strangely enough, it didn’t cross her mind for a moment that she was lying, too. Lying to herself. Because it _did_ matter. She wanted those words, wanted that touch— _his_ touch—and most of all, she wanted _him_. All of him. He was the only thing she’d ever truly wanted for herself, the only person she’d felt selfish about since she’d grown up and assumed her place as queen of Crystal Tokyo. Even when Mamoru had left her while she’d still been Sailor Moon, she hadn’t felt this level of betrayal, this complete and utter emptiness inside of her heart. She’d been angry… furious, even. But the knowledge that Raditz had lied to her… it left her feeling hollow and broken.

                “You need to leave, Raditz,” she finally choked out after a full minute of silence, her voice hitching as she tried her best to get the words out, praying that he wouldn’t touch her. If he did, if he laid so much as a finger on her, she’d give in to him. She’d give in and accept whatever comfort he offered her. She’d let him take her to bed like all of the other times, she’d let him kiss and stroke and pet her, and before she even knew what was happening, she’d let him inside of her again. She’d let him love her over and over until he’d earned her forgiveness with a soft, eager moan of his name, until he’d heard it repeatedly with every exquisite climax he sweetly coaxed from her. She’d pretend that she was his, that he would fully take her and sink his teeth into her shoulder, that he would finally give her the one thing she’d always longed for… and when he didn’t, she would lose the very last shred of whatever self-respect she still possessed.

                Usagi had given him everything over the years. Everything except for that, and she would be damned if he took the last bit of dignity that she had left. And if she couldn’t finish her command, she would. He would close the gap and take her in his arms and she’d be lost.

“P—put your clothes back on and… and go out the window. And…” Her voice cracked again on the last word, and Usa swallowed even as she fully dissolved into tears. “And don’t _ever_ come back,” she finally whimpered. “ _Never again_.”

There, she’d said it. She’d sounded downright fucking pitiful as she’d said it, but she’d done it. She’d cast him out of her life. Forever.

                “Usagi,” he replied, his voice trembling as his hand hovered less than an inch from her back, his eyes full of nothing but agonized confusion. Surely… surely she didn’t mean it, did she? That she never wanted him to come back? If she loved him and she knew that he felt the same way, _why_ was she doing this!? _Why!?_ It made absolutely no sense at all! “Please, Usa. Let’s talk. I… I shouldn’t have come to you like I did. I know that. I came here to talk to you at first, to apologize, to tell you—”

                “No.” It took all of her willpower to say that single word, and while it didn’t carry any conviction, she shook her head for good measure and effectively cut him off. “You lied to me, Raditz. You… you actually _lied to me_ and… I just _can’t_. So go.” Usagi sobbed softly and wiped at her eyes as he shifted uncomfortably behind her, and she knew he was waiting for her to take it back, to change her mind… but she couldn’t, and she desperately latched onto the anger she felt beneath her heartbreak, knowing that it was her last iota of strength, her only remaining weapon left to wield before she took the words back. “After all the times you got angry with me for being too sappy, after all the times you read too much into something I’d said, do you _really_ think I’m going to change my mind!? You… you’re in love with me. And you stated only minutes ago that I was dead wrong. I’d said that you felt more for me than you were willing to admit, and… and you _denied it_. I’ve tolerated a lot of your bullshit over the years, Raditz,” she ground out furiously, “but I won’t tolerate a liar. Get out,” Usagi repeated through her tears. “Now.”

                Gritting his teeth at her accusation, Raditz’s tail thrashed behind him angrily as he clenched the hand hovering an inch from her into a white-knuckled fist. “Usagi, I’ve never—“

                “GET OUT!” She cried as she finally turned to face him. “Get out and never come back! **_That’s an order!_** ”

                It wasn’t the order that stopped him cold or the fact that she’d practically screamed it. Sure, she’d never given him an order, not a single one in all the years they’d been best friends and lovers, but that wasn’t what made Raditz step back and grab his armor, singlet and his boots from the floor.

                It was the dull hopelessness in her eyes that made him comply. The light in her eyes that he’d always drowned in whenever he’d been inside of her… it was gone. It had been replaced by agony and emptiness. The Light of Hope had lost all hope… and for the first time in his life, Raditz was truly scared to the bone.

                He’d done that. He’d stripped his angel, the only woman he’d ever loved, of her inner light. Raditz had instilled hopelessness in the very avatar of hope. He’d genuinely broken a goddess of love’s heart… and it terrified him even more than admitting his love for her ever had.

                And before Usagi could utter one more word, he was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

                He could make this right. He _had_ to make this right… but even as Raditz crumpled up the one hundred and nineteenth draft of his note and threw it in the huge pile next to the waste can, he couldn’t stop his hands from trembling at the memory of the hopeless void in her eyes. He hadn’t just broken her heart, he’d destroyed it, crushed it, smashed it to bits, and no matter how hard he tried to focus on the task at hand, he saw that look in her eyes every time he shut his for even a moment in order to concentrate.

                He saw the emptiness in them, the tears streaming down her face, the way she’d clutched at her chest as if she’d literally felt her heart being turned to dust inside of her.

                “I love you,” Raditz whispered, his voice cracking as he finally said it, his eyes stinging as he grasped the edge of the desk in his room, his tears falling despite his best efforts not to cry, the spots making dark spots on the light varnish of the wood. “Why couldn’t I just fucking **_say it_**!?” He shouted, the last two words coming out as a helpless sob.

                Every note he’d thrown in the trash contained those three words, but the moment he caught himself writing them, he’d started over. He couldn’t and wouldn’t say it to her the first time in a note. No, Usagi deserved to hear it from his lips… but every attempt he’d made to see her since she’d ordered him from her room had met with a firm but polite refusal from Tenar, her door guard from last night. Without a doubt, he knew what had happened… or he at least suspected the truth, and when Raditz had asked after the queen’s well-being, the older warrior had only replied “she’s about how you’d expect.”

                Not only did that worry Raditz, but it rocked him to the core when Serenity hadn’t appeared for court. Not once, not all day, not even for a few minutes to handle some of the ambassadors from other systems. Even when Serenity had the flu, she still met with the ambassadors. Even the one time she’d had pneumonia, she’d still made an appearance.

                But today… today she’d remained in her room. He could feel her ki in her bedroom, her mortal ki, and he’d kept an eye on it all day long, noting that the only visitors she’d allowed had been Minako and Rei.

                Raditz had half-expected something horrible to happen to him after they’d left their sister’s chambers, but no retaliation had come from either of them. No ass-beatings, no lectures, no shouting matches… not even some sort of freaky sexual punishment from Mina herself, who Raddy knew could be vindictive as fuck whenever she was crossed.

                And he had definitely, definitely crossed her. Anyone that hurt one of their sisters always felt the wrath of the rest of the Senshi… but no one had come to kill him, remove his balls, or even inflict him with a permanent erection. They were back at the palace now, too, in the queen’s chambers, and Raditz could distinctly feel the way Usagi’s ki was wavering.

                It always did that when she was crying.

                He’d made her cry. Again. He loved her and he’d hurt her. The fact that he loved her aside, she was his best friend. They knew everything about each other, went almost everywhere together, and had been inseparable for over a decade. She’d accepted him immediately despite his faults, in spite of the fact that he had a reputation for womanizing. Even before they’d become lovers, they’d been the closest, best of friends for four years. And he’d somehow managed to forget that. Again. And in a fine twist of irony, he’d finally been the one to say something and for Usagi to take it the wrong way.

                She hadn’t understood that his words weren’t a lie—the exact opposite, actually—but he’d been so floored by Tenar spilling the beans that he hadn’t been able to form the right words to explain. So now she was crying and her sisters were trying to comfort her, and Raditz just wished that one of them would show up to break every bone in his body.

                “Gods damn it, I _want_ one of them would just teleport in and beat the shit out of me!” He yelled in frustration as the urge to throw something finally overcame him and he chucked a paperweight through the nearest wall. “I _deserve_ it! _I deserve it and more!_ Why couldn’t I just fucking say it to her!?” He bellowed at the hole in the wall. “I blurted out all that stupid shit the last time, so why couldn’t I just blurt out a single fucking ‘I love you’ and make it all better!? Why couldn’t I **_fucking explain_**!?”

                Out of the purest rage he’d ever felt with himself, other things flew from his desk until there was nothing left on it but his pen and a sheaf of paper, and when Raditz’s door opened, Turles found his older brother sitting on the floor and bawling hopelessly.

                “Whoa.” Whatever had happened, it was huge, and the first thing Turles did was to check for Kakarot and their father to make sure they were still alive, because surely if Raditz was crying, one of them had to be—no… they were both perfectly fine. Neither of their energy signatures seemed even slightly off, let alone on death’s doorstep.

                Honestly, the second thing Turles did was simply stare at the pitiful sight before him; the last time he’d seen Raditz cry, Turles had been six or seven and their mother had just died giving birth to Kakarot. It took him nearly a full minute to shake off his shock, and finally he managed to do the only thing he could think of in such an unbelievable situation.

                “Shhh, Raddy,” Turles whispered as he knelt and wrapped his arms and tail around his brother, briefly flaring his ki in a subtle signal for his brother and father to both get their asses there as quickly as possible. This was an emergency if there ever was one—Kakarot crying was one thing, even Turles getting a little teary-eyed while he was drunk wasn’t horribly rare, either, but if Raditz or Bardock was crying, it had to be nothing short of the fucking apocalypse.

                The way his older brother immediately clung to him and sobbed even harder scared the living shit out of Turles, too—the man was just shy of hysterics, weeping shamelessly and wordlessly, clutching his little brother to him even when Turles began to  purr comfort to Raditz and run his fingers through his tangled mop of hair. “Raddy, you’re scaring me,” he murmured in Saiyan when his uncontrollable sobbing didn’t let up after a couple minutes. “What happened? Did someone die? Talk to me, brother.”

                Raditz only shook his head at that and his sobs took on a hysterical note, but luckily for Turles—who was honest-to-gods starting to fear all of the worst-case scenarios possible—the cavalry arrived at that moment.

                Just as Turles had been stunned into silent staring, Bardock and Kakarot reacted much the same, except Kakarot only did so for a moment or two before sighing heavily and wading through the mess of crumpled papers, the broken trashcan, and various smashed objects before joining Turles and Raditz on the floor and embracing his oldest brother, who was clearly falling apart.

                His purr was even louder than Turles’s, but the middle brother didn’t miss the way that Kakarot frowned deeply or the troubled look in his eyes as he hugged Raditz tightly with his strong arms and even his tail. Baby boy Kaka knew something. He knew what was going on, and Turley locked eyes with him, silently pleading with his brother with only a look to explain what in the serious fuck was happening to Raditz.

                As Bardock finally joined them on the floor and awkwardly finger-combed the tangles from the mane of hair that was always well-kept and regularly brushed, he looked to Turles first and mouthed ‘the fuck is happening!?’ silently, his free hand rubbing soothing circles on his eldest son’s bare back, the low bass of his purr joining the comforting harmony that was punctuated with Raditz’s heart-wrenching sobs. Not even when his mother died had Raditz cried like _this_.

 No, Bardock hadn’t seen this sort of thing from anyone but Gine, and she’d only cried like this when she’d miscarried three babies in a row before Kakarot’s conception.

‘I’ve got no fucking clue,’ Turles mouth in response. ‘I’m scared, Father.’ He looked to Kakarot then, who had remained silent except for his purring. The youngest of them wasn’t watching him, though, he had that faraway look in his eyes that told Turles that he was talking to Rei through their mating bond… and it dawned on Turles that he hadn’t really heard from his own mate all day long.

In fact, Minako had barely said two words to him since she’d left for the palace. Normally, Mina filled him in on any new gossip she’d heard, and even if she was busy she still poked him occasionally through the mating bond just to say hi or to tell him that she couldn’t wait for the day to be over with.

Today, however, she’d checked on him once, and there had been some out of character terseness to her tone that made Turles briefly wonder who had fucked up at court. Whatever in the hell had happened, he was willing to bet his tail that it had something to do with why Raditz was crying his eyes out, and he immediately shoved at Mina through the bond in what amounted to as close to a blind panic as Turles had ever come in his life. If Minako was terse and distracted and not speaking with him and Raditz was freaking out, then the only possible answer was that something was wrong with Usagi. _Nako, what’s wrong with Raditz!? What happened!? Is there something wrong with Usagi!? Is she hurt!?_

When she didn’t respond to him, Turles looked up at his father frantically before looking at Kakarot, whose eyes were misting with tears… and who was still clearly speaking with Rei. _Minako, **please**! I’ve never seen Raditz like… like **this** before! He’s scaring me, alright!? **Please**! What’s wrong with my brother? Why is he crying like someone died!?_

 _I’m sorry,_ Mina replied quickly, _I wasn’t ignoring you, sweetheart. I’m dealing with much the same over here and Rei and I are kind of overwhelmed. Usagi’s never… I’ve never seen her like this, Turles. Usagi’s third shift door guard found her crying this morning, still dressed in her clothes from yesterday. She still hasn’t slept and she won’t stop crying… and the light in the Crystal Tower’s almost completely gone out._

 _Oh… oh gods. Oh gods, no,_ Turles groaned as he pieced it all together. _Raditz and Usagi… oh… oh fuck me running. Please, Mina. Please tell me that he didn’t hurt her._ When his mate was only silent, Turles finally did assume the worst, but as he resolved out of love to put his brother out of his misery as quickly and mercifully as possible, he hesitated as he wondered just how in the hell Raditz, of all people, could have possibly taken the queen—his best friend in the universe—by force.

Raditz and Usagi had been best friends since the day they’d met. She was his angel, the light of his life, and more than once, Turles had suspected that Raditz was secretly in love with her. He’d protected her countless times, he’d put himself between her and assassins from other systems as selflessly and as frequently as her Senshi did, and on more than one occasion he’d been gravely injured as a result.

It made absolutely zero sense. Raditz wasn’t burning and it wasn’t even a full moon for another five days, and even if either of those things were in play, there wasn’t a chance in hell that his brother would ever stoop to something as horrific as rape. Especially not with Usagi. Not with her, _never_ with his angel. Raditz would kill himself before he ever let that happen… and if Usa knew he was going to kill himself, she would likely offer herself willingly to spare him.

There was just no possible way that Raditz would have raped Usagi.

“Both of you clearly know what’s going on,” Bardock whispered anxiously, his brow furrowed deeply with anxiety. “Would either of you care to fill in an old man before he worries himself to death?”

Before Turles could work around the lump in his throat and the rare stinging of sober tears in his eyes, Kakarot raised his head from where he’d pillowed it on Raditz’s trembling shoulder and looked at his father. “Raditz and Usagi have been sleeping together for over a decade,” he sighed, “and last night she found out from Tenar that Raditz was in love with her… not even five minutes after he’d lied to her about it.”

“I DIDN’T LIE!” Raditz cried brokenly. “I… I…”

“Holy fuck, this is so much better than what I thought had happened,” Turles sighed in relief as he sagged into both Raditz and Kakarot, trembling at the knowledge that he’d been on the brink of ending his own brother, gratefully accepting the arm that suddenly went around him. Kakarot apparently knew _exactly_ what had gone through his head, and Turles was genuinely thankful for the comfort he offered, leaning into the embrace as he shook in the wake of nearly executing the warrior that had pretty much single-handedly raised them while Bardock had mourned the death of Gine.

“I don’t think I wanna know what you thought,” their father murmured even as he guessed what Turles had assumed, “because this is worse than a lot of the other explanations I’d come up with. Raditz,” he added as gently as possible, using the tone of voice he’d only used with Makoto during the last year that he’d been courting her. “Raditz… what did you say?”

For a few moments, the long-haired warrior could only shake his head helplessly, still clinging to Turles, his face buried in his shirt, but eventually he managed to choke out the words. “She… she said that… that I felt more for her than… than I was w—willing to—to admit,” Raditz sobbed. “I… I… I said she was wrong! I—I—oh gods, I swear _I was going to tell her!_ _I swear it on my tail, Father!_ ”

“Were you really?” Kakarot asked in wide-eyed surprise, saving Turles from being crushed when Raditz nodded and sagged, still sobbing, only now he was crying his heart out into his baby brother’s shirt as Bardock took over for Kakarot in easing Turles’s trembling, producing a flask from his pocket and handing it over.

“Save some for Raditz,” Bardock advised, only to stare at his son when he shook his head and gulped down the contents of the container.

“This,” Turles said as he rubbed Raditz’s back in slow, gentle circles, “isn’t something that liquor will fix. It’ll only make it worse. He’ll do something stupid, trust me.”

Something that liquor couldn’t fix!? “Where’s my kid and what the fuck have you done with him?” Bardock asked in a weak attempt at levity. No surprise, the attempt didn’t even get a smirk out of any of his sons.

Damn, this was way worse than he thought if Turles was going to deny Raditz anything to drown his sorrows in. “I’ll go to the palace,” Bardock stated as he awkwardly tightened his tail and arms around Raditz and patted his shoulder. He didn’t know how to handle this. He could only take so much crying, but this was his boy, _his son_ , and watching him fall apart over a woman tore him up inside. Bardock couldn’t handle Raditz’s crying and sitting there watching it, no… Bardock was a man of action, like Raditz _usually_ was. He couldn’t sit there any longer and offer hugs and purring, but he’d be damned if he wouldn’t do anything at all about it.

Yeah, he was going to go to the palace, storm into the queen’s room, and explain everything to her. He was going to make this right between his son and the queen he’d come to love like a daughter. Bardock didn’t do the whole open emotions thing too well, but his boy was in pain, and he was his father. And no decent father wanted their offspring to suffer. Not like this. Never like this. The kid was fucking _breaking_ , for Dra’s sake! “Son, you stay here. You lay down and go to sleep, and when you wake up you’re going to talk to Usagi. I’ll go to the palace and talk to her and—“

“They won’t let you in,” Kakarot stated over Raditz’s crying, which had ebbed slightly. “Rei says that Usagi’s ordered for no one to disturb her. Only Mina and Rei are allowed in. No exceptions. Usagi’s also ordered that they’re not allowed to hurt Raditz, but if he shows up at the palace again like he did this morning, Rei said she’s going to break every bone in his body, starting with his tail.”

“Holy… she’d disobey Usa’s order?” Bardock whispered in shock.

“Usagi just passed out,” Turles informed them as Mina suddenly came through the bond, apologizing to her mate profusely for blocking him out as she filled him in on what was happening. “Mina says that they just gave her something a minute ago and she’s finally dozing off, that she’s been crying non-stop since last night and won’t eat or drink. They’re knocking her out to give her IV fluids and—aw, fuck,” he sighed when Raditz’s sobbing increased in pitch. Damn it, he’d just started to calm down a little bit! “Me and my big fucking mouth.”

“I’ll say,” Bardock agreed, his eyes on Turles just as a movement from Kakarot made him snap his gaze to the right just in time to see Raditz sag and hear him go silent, leaving the soothing, harmonic purr all three of them were creating to hang in the air for several beats before they all stopped simultaneously. “Fucking hell, boy! What’d you do that for!?”

“Yeah, whoa… Kakarot, that’s just like… not cool. At all,” Turles stammered, flabbergasted by the fact that he’d just seen his peaceful, sweet little brother chop Raditz in the back of the head, knocking him out.

“Knocking him out’s a good idea, but I’m not getting anywhere near a needle to give him a shot or something,” Kakarot explained with a guilty look. “He hasn’t slept. I doubt he’s eaten. This was the only way.” He stood then, lifting Raditz into his arms and carrying him to the king-sized bed against the wall. “I’ll stay with him. Dad, you should go talk to Mako. Turles, go talk to Mina. I’ve already talked to Rei as much as I can; she’s furious right now and it’ll be awhile before she’s calm enough to understand that Raditz didn’t lie and didn’t mean to hurt Usagi… I’ll do what I can tonight to make her happy, but I can’t promise much. You know how her temper is.”

 

############

“She’s pregnant,” Rei ground out. “Again.”

Well, that definitely explained why Rei was hotter than any of them had ever seen her. Even when she told Tenar to allow Bardock and Turles inside of the queen’s chambers, she’d yelled her orders, sparks shooting from her fingers when they’d entered and found her pacing the floor furiously.

“A—again…?” Turles asked slowly, looking up at Mina to find her nodding in agreement.

“I didn’t know about the first time,” Mina added. “Only Rei and Kakarot did. Usagi told no one.”

“She came to Mars for a couple weeks when she miscarried the baby,” Rei added angrily. “She was a couple months along and she’d been using her disguise pen to mask her scent so no one would know.”

“Does she know she’s pregnant this time?” Bardock asked, looking to Ami, who was kneeling at the bedside and using her computer to scan Usa.

“No,” the little doctor answered softly, “I don’t think so. She’s only a few weeks along. Maybe two or three at the most.”

                “She wouldn’t even tell us who the father was last time!” Rei interjected with a shout. “What the serious fuck, Usagi!? You could have told us!”

                “Yelling at her while she’s unconscious won’t solve anything,” Mako sighed from the corner, giving Bardock a slow nod and a watery smile when he met her eyes.

                “No, but it’ll make me feel better,” Rei huffed. “Not like I can yell at her when she wakes up. I’m not _that_ mean. Raditz, however—“

                “No,” Turles and Bardock grunted simultaneously.

                “He’s a fucking wreck as it is,” the former of the two added with serious calm. “If you go there and scream at him, Rei… you and I are going to fight. I mean it.”

                “Same,” Bardock added softly, shooting Mako an apologetic glance. It would hurt his chances with her, he knew it, but he’d fight Rei to protect his oldest son in this situation. “I get you’re mad, Rei. I don’t blame you. But right now, Raditz is as emotionally defenseless as Usagi is. I’ve never seen him like this… not even when my mate died.”

                With a long look at Usagi, Rei deflated and nodded slightly, wishing that Kakarot was there to comfort her as she walked out of the room to the balcony for some privacy, surprised when Turles joined her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “What are you doing?”

                “Being a good brother,” he stated blandly, hugging her close. “Mina’s fine and you’re not. Simple as that. You’re not going to cry or anything, are you?” Gods only knew, he’d had more crying than he could handle for one day.

                “No. I’m cried out,” Rei said softly. “And thank you,” she added as she hugged him tightly, accepting the comfort he offered in lieu of her mate. “At the moment I’m just mostly angry because Ami discovered she’s pregnant… again.”

                “You know, I’m not mad. This _is_ Usagi we’re talking about,” Minako stated from the doorway. “They’ve been sleeping together for a decade and she’s only forgotten her pill twice? I’m honestly impressed. Usa’s gotta be the most forgetful person we know, Rei.”

                “I’m mad because the dates line up to their last argument,” the Senshi of Mars sighed. “Usagi wasn’t quite right the next day, remember? She kept forgetting things all day long. Guess her pill was one of them,” she finished, followed by a long, slow blink when Kakarot informed her through the bond that Raditz was awake. “You should go back to your brother, Turles. He’s crying again. Kakarot doesn’t know what to do.”


End file.
